1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, broadly, to an improved locking mechanism for cabinet enclosures and, more particularly, to locking mechanisms for the coin-receiving enclosure of a vending machine. The improved locking mechanism of the present invention is especially adapted for coin-operated newspaper vending machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vending machines are, of course, well known and routinely employed to allow purveyors to widely distribute their goods to consumers at numerous, often remote locations without the need to incur expenses relating to, for example, overhead and personnel. These devices are particularly attractive for the merchant who desires to sell small, low profit-margin products widely used by consumers who desire the convenience of obtaining these goods readily during their daily routines.
However, with such widespread use of coin-operated vending machines, the merchant must be able to rely upon sturdiness of the apparatus to protect both the commodity to be dispensed and the currency deposited therein. This is particularly true for vending machines such as, for example, those employed for the dispensing of newspapers and which are typically located on numerous street corners throughout a city. Consequently, vandalism and theft become active concerns for these merchants.
In addition, the coin-receiving enclosure of these devices must not only be sturdy and durable, but convenient in terms of the ability to gain access thereto. Those vending machines currently available have not satisfactorily balanced these various considerations, but have sacrified one in favor of another. Consequently, the merchant must either suffer certain deficiencies or extensively modify the apparatus to meet his particular needs. Therefore, the need exists to provide a locking mechanism for a cabinet enclosure of vending machine which is convenient, and yet provides an increased measure of security for the merchant's investment.
While the earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,228 to H. C. Voegeli materially improved the state of the art respecting these locking mechanisms, convenient access to the coin-receiving enclosure is not optimum. In that patent, wherein the locking mechanism is comprised of a removable lock body from a stationary lock shaft, the vendor must necessarily totally disengage the lock body member from the dispensing apparatus. Elimination of this somewhat undesirable feature will accommodate the present needs in the market place.